Category: Hope
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Hope When Life Throws You Roadblocks
It’s difficult to maintain hope when life throws you roadblocks. This is especially true when one obstacle after another litters your path. Sometimes these situations only act as speedbumps. But at other times, they’re a massive rockslide blocking your way. How do you keep a positive attitude when these roadblocks make any forward movement impossible?…
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When the Christmas Spirit Feels Elusive— Celebrate Anyway
If you’ve noticed that I haven’t written lately or posted much on social media, you would be correct. It feels like I’ve fallen off the face of the earth and I’m just beginning to climb back on. Can you relate? The last few months have been particularly tough for me and my family. My normal…
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The Art of Story: Offering Hope in This Weary World
Earlier this week, I woke around 3:30 am and no matter what I tried, I simply couldn’t go back to sleep. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. I often have trouble either falling asleep or waking too early. The burden of being a light sleeper has plagued me since my nights on call as a family…
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A Right Time for Everything Under Heaven
Even though I’m anxious to rototill the garden as soon as warm days arrive, I force myself to wait. Patience is a must this time of year. Tender plants wilted in the frost have taught me a hard lesson. There’s a right time for everything under heaven and gardening in the spring is no exception….
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Beauty Found Within the Ashes
Life is so full of confusing contrasts. Isn’t it odd how often unexpected beauty is found within the ashes? Its boldness brightens our day and pushes away worries that threaten to weigh us down. Out of the darkness, beauty offers hope within a world blanketed in sorrow. During my recent drive back to East Tennessee,…
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Living Hope: Faith in Action
Do you sometimes leave worship services with more questions than when you entered? I know I do. Since this past Sunday, I’ve wrestled with Pastor Doug’s sermon. His message spoke of living hope which is not a new term for me. According to the Bible, Jesus is our living hope. However, our guest minister didn’t…
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Embracing Hope Despite the Soul Pains of Life
Here you are again blindsided by pain. Just when you thought the rollercoaster of life was on level ground, your world has been turned upside down by grief once more. I’m not writing about physical pain but soul pain–the kind that squeezes your heart and steals your breath. There are not enough tears to wash…
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Look Around You: Winter is Over!
Look around you: Winter is over; the winter rains are over, gone! Spring flowers are in blossom all over. The whole world’s a choir-and singing! Spring warblers are filling the forest with sweet arpeggios, Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed, and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms. Song of Solomon 2:11-13 Message Bible
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Hope: An Unwavering Anchor for the Soul
If faith is confident assurance in the present then hope is eager anticipation for what’s to come. Hope keeps us going. It holds us together when we’re falling apart and mends our wounds through its power. Hope provides an unwavering anchor for the soul. But where do we look for hope in an often dark…
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Grace Notes: A Melody of Hope
In a world full of difficulty, we all need a little grace. Grace presents itself in various forms. This word represents elegance, virtue and moral strength. Some say ‘grace’ before a meal. Others grace us with their presence. At times, a grace period offers a reprieve before a bill is due. When I ponder the…
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A Light to Shine
Everyone carries within them a light to shine, a melody to sing, or a gift to bestow upon the world. Everyone. Whether we recognize it or not, each human being bears God-given abilities unique just to them. Think for a moment. What if all those talents developed with the goal of promoting good? Could anyone…
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Lift Up Your Eyes to A Heavenly Vista
I was born and raised in the Midwest. We have a few hills in southern Indiana though the area where I live is primarily flat. So when I traveled this last week to visit my new grandson in eastern Tennessee, my legs weren’t used to the terrain. We seemed to climb up or down everywhere…
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A Message of Hope and Light
Life is all about perspective. The lens through which I see the world determines my focus. If I limit my vision to only human viewpoints then I open myself up to despair. Earthly messages leave me feeling depressed and overwhelmed. But heavenly heralds point to a deeper reality. Beneath this present darkness flows a message…
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A Letter to God for Such a Time as This
Dear God…I try to be brave to encourage others but it’s not easy. I try to write words of hope but somedays they just don’t come. Can I give myself permission to feel discouraged…to feel disappointed with the current situation? My sister remains in hospice at home with cancer and there’s nothing I can do…
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Spring is on the Way
Every year during the month of March, I find myself struggling. In Indiana, the last vestiges of winter seem to drag on and on. Though if I look closely, I see signs of change popping up everywhere. While robins search for tasty earthworms, lemon colored daffodils push up through the cold earth. As the days…
